Sunday, March 27, 2011

For months I have been wanting to start running and I have seen running programs, tried them with no success and then finally gave up.

Recently I saw a friend's posting on Facebook about this running program that is an App on your iPhone/iTouch or Droid phone. So, this week I did my research. My phone does in fact have it as an available app so today I downloaded the app (C25K). I then headed out to our local High School to go on the track - my neighborhood is too hilly. I must start on an even track if I even think I want to be successful. There were soccer games going on and I had the kids so we went with Plan B. We drove over to Rockland Lake Park to start our run. I figured we could get the kids to get in some shape as well.

It was a little cold and we started. In the end the children got a little cold and tired so I went to another area where the kiddies could sit on a bench. It was nice, I picked a little area that resembled a track. It was good - during the walking times I went around 2 times and during the running times I went around once (the times were different - in the first week you do a 5 minute brisk walk then alternating 60 seconds of running/90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes). Total it's about 30 minutes with the warmups and cool downs.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Three years ago our family received news that no one wants to hear, a loved one had cancer. It was Leukemia. It was my Mother in law. She had been sick with something for over a year. One thing after the other but no one knew what and now finally there was an answer.

She was a survivor. She beat breast cancer more than 20 years before. She started treatments immediately. Six months later she received a Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transfer, from a complete stranger thousands of miles away. She was born again that day. Now two and a half years later (3 since diagnosis) she is well. Of course it's been a bumpy road but she is here and she is well. We are lucky.

This week, Dana Farber Cancer Institute gave her another gift. They gave her the name and email address of her donor. Of course she Googled him and found an article about him written in German but it also contained his picture. Not only did she have a name, now she had a face. My sister in law used Google translator and the article was actually about Stem Cell donation. They email him and he responded. He was happy to help her. He was only 25 at the time. As I read the email from my father in law with their email exchange included (I was in my carpool on the way home), I was crying as I read their words to each other (I am a huge sap, this situation even more so).
I knew I had to write about this. I knew I had to share. This young man saved my mother in law, saved our family all out of the goodness of his heart. He even sent a picture of him and his girlfriend (I am showing you the picture from the news article.

The 2nd guy on the right side with the black sweater is her donor, Patrick

This year in Religious school Sam had to do a values project. His value word was Humility. He did part of his project about this wonderful person (without his name since we did not have it) and the other part on his sister and her donating her hair to Locks of Love. Oddly enough the presentation of the values project did not happen on the date scheduled and was rescheduled to a later date (next month). When I showed Sam the picture of Patrick he said he can do a little update in his project and show the picture of him. I am really proud of my children for being good people and thinking of helping others they do not know and may never know. We have always taught them to help people who are less fortunate than themselves (human or not) and think of others in need. Maybe they will do something so selfless like Patrick did for my mother in law, in any case I know their hearts are starting in the right place.

cream butter and sugar. add eggs and beat well. add the rest of the ingredients and mix just until blended. spread batter in a greased 9-inch tube pan. in a bowl, cut brown sugar and cocoa into margarine until coarse crumbs. toss in nuts and chocolate chips. crumble mixture evenly over batter. bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

She is a great mom and tells about the adventures of her family and obviously herself. I love her honesty and her comic relief about everyday stuff. I also love how she takes great pictures of her kids and their life.

About Me

Hi I'm Zizette and I am a mother, wife, special educator and aspiring home decorator (my own). I also love to cook, so you will find new recipes I have been brave enough to try. I am always looking for ways to make our home and life the best it can be. I blog to inspire others and to get inspiration from all the wonderful people out there.